Process for treating yarns, fibers, and filaments



Patented Sept. 6,

UNITED STATE PATENT orrlcs PROCESS FOR TREATING YARNS, FIBERS,

FILAMENTS Wendell G. Faw, Kingsport, Tenn., assignor to Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, H. Y., a corporation of New Jersey No Drawing.

.Application March 27, 1937, Serial No. 133,426

9 Claims. (Cl. 28- 1). I

This invention relates to the conditioning of textile yarns and more particularly to the conditioning of filaments and yarns composed of organic derivatives of cellulose such as cellulose 55 acetate, cellulose acetate propionate, cellulose acetate butyrate, etc., to render them more amenable to textile operations such as knitting l5 chanical strains and to lubricate the yarn in order to facilitate handlingin such operations as spinning, twisting winding and reeling. In addition, it is necessary to treat yarn to adapt it for use as warp or filling or for the manufacture of various types of knitted fabrics. In knitting, it is particularly important that the yarn be soft and pliable in order that it may conform readily to the contour of the needlesand thus produce a closely knit fabric free from such defects as stitch distortion, pin holes, laddering? and the like. Heretofore it has been proposed to employ softening agents such as polyhydric alcohols and similar agents as ingredients of yarn condition- ,ing or lubricating formulae, generally in connection with mineral, animal or vegetable oils. It has been found, however, that most of the known softening. agents and the various formu-. lae containing them have .certain drawbacks, one of the most serious of which is high vapor pressure, and in some cases too drastic a solvent action on the yarn. Many. of such agents possess slight or insuflicient solvent power for the lubricants with which they are used and it is ac- 40 cordingly necessary to employ blending agents or emulsifying agents in order to obtain operable yarn treating formulae. In addition, many of iii the known softening and lubricating agents are insufliciently soluble in water to permit satls- 45 *factory removal byaqueous scour baths.

This invention has as its principal object to provide anentirely new class of yarn conditioning agents which are particuarly adapted for the treatment of yarns composed of or contain- 50 ing-organic derivatives of cellulose and capable of lubricating, softening and rendering such yarns more amenable. to knitting and other textile operations. A further and specific object is to provide a class of conditioning agents which 55 augment or assist the lubricating action of various lubricants when applied to such yarns. "A still further object is to provide yarn softening and lubricating formulae which 'can be readily .removed from the yarns by the usual scour baths. A still further object is to provide an improved 5 method for the conditioning of yarns, particularly those composed of or containing organic derivatives of cellulose such as cellulose acetate, whereby the-yarn is rendered soft and pliable and capable of employment in a variety of tex- 10 the operations where complicated designs or stitches are employed. Other objects will appear hereinafter.

These objects are accomplished by the 01 lowing invention which, in its broader aspects, 15

comprises the discovery that beta-methoxy ethyl succinate, a diester of succinic acid'having the following structure: 0

, o o -onri nr-o-o n --OClIr-CHa-0-CH:

' o v, may be used as a yarn conditioning agent and particularly as a softening agent, with or without the addition of animal, mineral or vegetable 1 I oils, in the treatment of yarn' composed of or 30 containing'organic derivatives of cellulose.

I have found that this compound has a slight solvent and/or softening action on cellulose organic derivative yarns which renders such yarns soft and pliable without at the same time having too drastic a solvent action thereon.

-' This compound also has a particular advantage over other solvents or yarn softening agents in that it has a very low rate of evaporation. Yarn treated with this compound will not lose 40 its softness on exposure to the atmosphere over a comparatively long period of time.

In the following examples and description I have'set forth several of the preferred embodiments of my invention, but they are included merely for purposes of illustration and not as a limitation thereof. I

Example I.Yarn designed for knitting and composed of cellulose acetate is treated by applying thereto a composition having the followmg formula: I

Parts by weight B h xy ethyl succinate 85 V Oxidized olive all n "The amount of the conditioning liquid may run Parts by weigh Beta-methoxy ethyl succinate.. '70- Fatty alr'nhnl v 2O White mineral oils 10 in making the yarn, the solvent or solvent com- Example III.A yam conditioning liquid is made up by mixing the following ingredients in the indicated proportions:

. Parts by weight Beta-methoxy ethyl succinate 30 Diamyl tartrate l0. Oxidized sperm oil 10 This compositionis applied to 100 denier cellulose acetate yarn intended for knitting in an amount representing 5-25% by weight of the yarn. The filaments or fibers of the yarn treated as described above are quite soft and pliable and give excellent results in textile operations, especially knitting. I

As will be apparent from the above examples and description, the conditioning agents of my invention may be applied by a wide variety of methods. For example, we may employ the agent as an ingredient of the spinning dope from which the filaments are formed, the amount of the agent so employed depending upon a number of factors such as the particular cellulose derivative used bination used. in making up the spinning solution, and the degree of softness or pliability desired in the yarn, etc.

If the conditioning agent is to beapplied to the yarn after spinning, this may be done by bringing the yarn in contact with a wick,roll, or felt -wet therewith, or the liquid may be applied by immersion, spray, or otherwise. The particular point at which the liquid is applied may vary. It may, for example, be'applied to the yarn inside or outside the spinning cabinet, between the guide and godet roll, between the godet or other roll or guide and the point of 'winding and/or twisting. In some cases, the liquid may even be applied to the'yarn after winding onto cones, spools, bobbins, or the like or by. the so-called bobbin to bobbin method. In the case of staple fiber manufacture, the liquid may be applied to the yarn prior to, or after cutting intostaple lengths.

, The amount of the agent so employed will vary widely depending upon the results desired, the

- specific nature of the material to which the agent is applied, the use to which the yarn is eventu ally to be put and other factors. For-example, in-a given case where a cellulose organic acid ester yarn such asa yarn composed of cellulose acetate, is intended for .circular knitting, about -15% or more by weight, based on the weight\ ,ofthe dry yarn, may be satisfactory, while if the yarn is intended for weaving, the amount may vary between about 2 and 5%. I v

There is also a slight diflerencein the requirements ,of dull luster as compared to bright luster =yarn with respect to the amount of conditioning agent a plied. In general, it may be said that when a dull luster yarn, for example, yarn produced from a cellulose acetate spinning solution and containing a delustering vagent such as finely la,1a9,414 7 sifying agents, blending agents and thelike, may

be added within the scope of my invention. In fact, any other component that will be miscible with the mixture of oil and beta-methoxy ethyl succinate may be added. I have found, for example. that dibutyl phthalate, diamyl tartrate, fatty alcohols, such as lauryl, oleyl, etc., and

, other plasticizing or similar agents may be added.

Likewise, various dyes or other coloring matter may be included in case it is desired to permanently or fugitively tint or dye the material undergoing treatment;

Although I have found it convenient to illustrate my invention by reference to compositions containing specific percentages of the various ingredients, these percentages may vary widely depending upon the particular purpose for which the composition is intended. For example, if it is desired to control the solvent or softening action-of the conditioning agent, the amount of the agent may be adjusted as, for example, by reducing the amount of the agent and correspondingly increasing the amount of oil or other ingredient.

While I have described my invention with parbutyrate, ethyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, benzyl cellulose and others. I r

The term. yarn as used herein and in the claims is to be understood as including a single filament, a plurality of filaments associated into the form of a thread, either of high or low twist, single or multiple threads associated or twisted together, composite. threads composed of a mixture of natural and artificial filaments or a composite thread formed by twisting together individual strands'of natural or artificial materials, as well as cut staple fibers produced from natural and/or artificial filaments or threads and spun yarn produced from such staple fibers.

As indicated above, the yarn. conditioning agents of my invention are exceptionally good solvents for a wide variety of mineral, blown and unblown, drying and semi-drying animal and vegetable oils such as cottonseed, olive, castor, neats-foot, sperm and other oils. This enables them .to be used with any of such oils in making'up a variety of yarn treating formulae of varying composition.

The yarn conditioning method and composl tionspf my invention possess many outstanding advantages. :The fundamental and outstanding organic derivatives of cellulose such as cellulose acetate and render them soft and-pliable, and

amenable to various textile operations,

' vegetable oils and its ability to act as lubricating assistant in conjunction with these oils when applied to such yarns. In addition, due to its solubility in water, it may readily be removed from yarns and fabrics by means of the usual aqueous scour baths. By'employing the yarn conditioning agents and methods of our invention as herein described, one is enabled to obtain highly satisfactory results in the manufacture oiyarns and woven fabrics and especially the production from these yarns of knit fabrics free from defects such as pin holes, stitch distortion, laddering and the like.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. The process of conditioning yarn to render it more amenable to textile operations including circular knitting, weaving, spinning and the like which comprises applyin thereto a lubricating and softening composition containing betamethoxy ethyl succinate.

2. The process of conditioning yarn composed of or containing organic derivatives of cellulose to-render it more amenable to textile operations including circular knitting, weaving, spinning and the like which comprises applying thereto a composition containing meta-methoxy ethyl succinate.

3. The process of conditioning yarn composed of or containing cellulose acetate to render it more amenable to textile operations including circular knitting, weaving, spinning and the like, which comprises applying thereto a lubricating and softening composition containing betamethoxy ethyl succinate.

4. The process of conditioning yarn composed of or containing cellulose acetate to render it more amenable to textile operations including circular knitting, weaving, spinning and the like, which comprises applying thereto a lubricating and softening composition containing betamethoxy ethyl succinate and a textile lubricant.

5. Textile yarn amenable to textile operations including circular knitting, weaving, spinning and the like, impregnated with a lubricant containing beta-methoxy ethyl succinate.

6. Textile yarn composed of or containing organic derivatives of cellulose amenable to textile operations including circular knitting, weaving, spinning and the like, impregnated with a conditioning agentcomprising beta-methoxy ethyl succinate.

'l. Textile yarns composed of or containing cellulose acetate amenable to textile operations including circular knitting, weaving, spinning and the like, impregnated with a lubricating and softening composition containing beta-methoxy ethyl succinate.

8. A conditioning 'agent for rendering yarns more amenable to textile operations including weaving, spinning, knitting and the like which is composed of -80 parts by weight of betamethoxy ethyl succinate, the balance being a textile lubricant.

9. A conditioning agent more amenable to knitting for rendering yarns having the following formula:

7 Parts by weight Beta-methoxy ethyl succinate Oxidized olive oil 15 WENDELL G. FAW. 

